Robert De Niro Pulls Vaxxed Documentary From Tribeca Film Festival

Robert De Niro has changed his mind about screening Vaxxed: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe, a controversial documentary linking vaccines to autism in children, at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. De Niro, whose son is autistic, initially stood by the selection of the film, but reversed his decision in a statement Saturday, after outcry from parents, researchers, and members of the medical community.

“My intent in screening this film was to provide an opportunity for conversation around an issue that is deeply personal to me and my family,” De Niro said. “But after reviewing it over the past few days with the Tribeca Film Festival team and others from the scientific community, we do not believe it contributes to or furthers the discussion I had hoped for.”

Vaxxed is directed by Andrew Wakefield, the doctor who authored a discredited 1998 study linking the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine in children to autism. The Centers for Disease Control has long refuted any link between vaccines and autism, but the debate among parents and the medical community has escalated in recent years. After De Niro, a cofounder of the festival, announced he was pulling Vaxxed as an official Tribeca selection, Wakefield and Vaxxed producer Del Bigtree accused De Niro and the Tribeca Film Festival of censorship.

“We have just witnessed yet another example of the power of corporate interests censoring free speech, art, and truth,” Wakefield and Bigtree said in a statement. “Tribeca’s action will not succeed in denying the world access to the truth behind the film Vaxxed.”